Molecular dynamics based on the empirical Tersoff potential was used to
simulate the deposition of amorphous silicon and germanium on
silicon(111) at various deposition rates and temperatures. The resulting
films were analyzed quantitatively by comparing one-dimensional atomic
density profiles to experimental measurements. It is found that the
simulations are able to capture well the structural features of the
deposited films, which exhibit a gradual loss of crystalline order over
several monolayers. A simple mechanistic model is used to demonstrate
that the simulation temperature may be used to effectively accelerate
the surface relaxation processes during deposition, leading to films
that are consistent with experimental samples grown at deposition rates
many orders of-magnitude slower than possible in a molecular dynamics
simulation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.